KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Monday that China stands ready to join various parties in actively advancing the Global Governance Initiative, and make joint efforts to inject more positive energy into regional peace and development.

Li made the remarks while addressing the 20th East Asia Summit (EAS) held in Malaysia.

Li said that 20 years ago, the EAS was born in Kuala Lumpur, and over the past two decades, the summit has played an overall constructive role, promoting stability and rapid development in the region.

Today, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, with peace and development facing many new risks and challenges, Li said.

With an eye toward addressing global changes and tackling pressing conundrums, Chinese President Xi Jinping solemnly put forth the Global Governance Initiative, he noted.

Emphasizing adherence to sovereign equality, abidance by international rule of law, practice of multilateralism, advocacy of people-centered approach, and focus on taking real actions, this initiative carries strong practical relevance and aligns closely with the founding purpose of the EAS, Li added.

China stands ready to work with all parties to remain true to the original aspirations of the EAS, Li said, calling on all sides to continue building broad consensus.

Mutual respect, equality, and fairness and justice, among others, are important foundations governing relations among nations. Economic globalization and world multipolarization are irreversible, and the world should not return to the law of the jungle where the weak fall prey to the strong, he said.

Only by upholding these shared values of humanity and following the tide of history can we make the right decisions at critical junctures and stay on the correct course forward, Li added.

Li noted the need to focus on solving prominent problems, saying that economic development and the improvement of people's livelihoods remain top priorities for countries in the region.

He called for a stronger commitment to upholding the free trade system, making efforts to build a high-level regional free trade network, and vigorously advancing regional integration.

More strength should be gathered to enhance people's well-being and achieve universally beneficial and inclusive development, he added.

Li also called for reforming and improving the rules and the systems. The more turbulent the situation becomes, the greater the need to safeguard the authority of international rule of law, he said.

He urged all parties to abide by the rules, especially to safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core, and support ASEAN's centrality in the regional architecture, acting as a promoter of regional cooperation.

At the same time, he said, efforts should be made to actively promote reforms, facilitate the establishment of a more just and reasonable global governance system to better safeguard the interests of all sides. ■